Langley man to appear in court following New Year's Eve slaying

METRO VANCOUVER - Langley resident Jason Terrence Brewer is expected to appear in Surrey provincial court this afternoon, charged with the second-degree murder of his friend on New Year's Eve.

Sgt. Jennifer Pound, of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said the fatal slaying at a Langley residence about 7:30 a.m. Dec. 31 was not gang-related.

She released the identity of the victim as 40-year-old Cloverdale resident Cole Adam Manning.

"The victim and suspect are believed to be friends, however, IHIT investigators continue to explore the motive for this homicide. At this point we can say this is not gang related, " Pound said in a release.

Langley RCMP was called to a house in the 19800 block of 69th Avenue where they found Manning dead inside.

Police quickly identified a possible suspect and vehicle that he was travelling in and alerted the Abbotsford Police Department. Brewer, 24, was in custody just two hours after police were called.

Brewer was on probation at the time of the murder, after being convicted last July of assault with a weapon in an April 2011 attack in Langley. He was sentenced to a day in jail and 18 months probation for the assault, as well as a 2009 robbery. He was also given a lifetime firearms prohibition.